Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Repentance and Remorse Again
The generalization that Greeks of the classical period regarded repentance and remorse as "evidence of inconstancy and moral weakness and a sign of the unsuccessful individual" is too sweeping, as numerous passages from classical Greek literature can be adduced which suggest the opposite, viz. that repentance and remorse can be desirable and admirable, depending on circumstances.
See, e.g., Democritus, fragment B 43 (tr. Kathleen Freeman):
Newer› ‹Older
See, e.g., Democritus, fragment B 43 (tr. Kathleen Freeman):
Repentance for shameful deeds is salvation in life.There are more examples and discussion in
μεταμέλεια ἐπ᾿ αἰσχροῖσιν ἔργμασι βίου σωτηρίη.
- Douglas L. Cairns, "Representations of Remorse and Reparation in Classical Greece," in Murray Cox, ed., Remorse and Reparation (London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1999), pp. 171-178
- Laurel Fulkerson, "Metameleia and Friends: Remorse and Repentance in Fifth- and Fourth-Century Athenian Oratory," Phoenix 58 (2004) 241-259
